The tech giant is already in talks with manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. for the new device

It's common for people to carry more than one portable device these days. When we're not glued to our smartphones, we typically have a laptop or tablet nearby for heavier workloads or just the convenience of a bigger screen. But Apple is looking to add another must-have device to our growing collection.

Apple is currently testing designs for a smart watch, which would act like a small-scale iPhone. According to The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, Apple could be using bendable glass (such as that made by Corning) to create a watch that curves with the human body.

The tech giant is already in talks with manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. for the new device. Hon Hai has been working on new technologies for wearable devices, such as more efficient displays and chips at that size.

However, Apple has released no design or feature details yet. The device is still in early testing, but it is expected to be very different from current wearable devices. It could have a range of apps available on-the-go as well as features like GPS.

Many popular wearable devices today, such as Jawbone and Nike's FuelBand, are used to keep an eye on physical activity. These devices can be linked to a smartphone to help people keep track of their fitness goals.

Smart watches attempted to make an introduction long before now, but failed. For instance, Microsoft tried out a smart watch concept called SPOT (smart personal objects technology) in 2003, but it didn't go anywhere.

WIMM, a Silicon-Valley based tech company, introduced its WIMM Wearable Platform back in 2011. But again, the idea just didn't seem to take off.

Considering Apple's success in the mobile realm, it'd be no surprise that the Cupertino giant could lead the way to the next evolutionary step in mobile devices: smart technology right on your wrist.

Watches are obsolete, have been for some time. Just another casualty of the smartphone domination era.

Not sure what Apple is thinking with this. While it's true that watches still have some value as accessories, I'm pretty sure your look won't be improved by having a full-on homo looking set-piece from a B rated sci-fi movie bolted to your wrist.

Runners... college kids taking a test... bikers... even swimmers. An average person walking around the mall who would rather lift his arm than dig a phone out of his jeans. I don't think watches are obsolete. I left mine at my aunt's last time I visited and I can't stand taking my phone out every time I want the time.

I make an obvious and true statement, that for the most part, watches are obsolete. It cannot be denied. In the same way that smartphones have marginalized the MP3 player, mobile devices have marginalized the watch. This cannot even be argued with.

So to counter my statement, someone brings up specific examples where a watch is helpful, if not outright required. Does this disprove my opening statement however? No. Because obviously I was making a generalized global statement, which cannot be logically countered with cherry-picked scenarios.

Also why this obsession with needing to know the time constantly? Smartphones marginalize the watch with another feature: set alerts. They can alert you at a specific time, even voice remind you to do things (take medicine, eat snack, set DVR etc etc) so you don't HAVE to constantly check your watch.

quote: No. Because obviously I was making a generalized global statement, which cannot be logically countered with cherry-picked scenarios.

While you may consider a watch as a time keeping instrument obsolete (and it is indeed true), what you completely failed to realize is they have become jewelery, and one that is still functional and more practical than other tech. That combination alone renders any argument that you make about watches going away any time soon completely moot.

As for evidence, while low cost digital watches are more accurate, the bulk of watch sales are in higher end quartz (think Citizen, Seiko, Bulova) and even higher end Swiss mechanical watches. Watch prices are through the roof over the last 10 years, which is exactly opposite of what you would think with the rise of the digital culture.

You can rationalize the obsolescence of the wrist watch all you want, but sales data disagrees with you. People are buying watches like mad, and prices have skyrocketed. That is not cherry picking at all. That's fact.

FWIW, I agree with the context of your argument. But also while I type this, I have on my wrist a Patek Phillipe Celestial Grand Complication. And tomorrow, I'll wear one of my other 93 watches.

Then, a time when a digital watch was a novelty and too cool. One of the then-obvious bonuses was that the pocket watch had to be carried about and pulled out just to know the time; the watch made time (and other things) immediately available.

Now, we're back to pocket-phones that tell time, but we've seen their disadvantages as well: dropped phones, distracted drivers, the need to pull out the phone with each message/tweet/alert/whatever.

The natural size contraction of the pocket watch was the wristwatch; it may be that the pocket phone naturally converts to a wrist phone as the tech improves.